When you buy something at a big-box store, 80 percent to 90 percent of your cash is exported out of your community. Purchases in local stores, buying local produce can keep the majority of your cash circulating in your community.

Let’s take what little money we have and invest it in our local economies. Here are some principles that might work to sustain our local economy, which in the not-so-distant future, may be the only economy we have:

• Food: Grow your own food. Buy local food. Join a buyer’s club or form relationships directly with food producers to secure the food you can’t find or grow on your own. Learn how to dry, freeze and can your food for winter and spring. Then do it.

• Finance: Join your local credit union, mutual or community bank. Get out of the big, national banks.

• Business: Do business with local companies. Encourage your town to print a business directory, perhaps as part of its town report each year.

• Eating out: Choose a local restaurant serving local food over fast-food chains.

• Home repairs: Use your local wood merchant; stay away from national chains. Things may cost a little more, but your money stays in the community.

• Bargain hunting: We are genetically hard-wired to find the cheapest anything, even if it’s the worst junk. Buy less of everything from any source. Stay away from the big-box stores. Find local substitutes or, (oh no!) do without.

• Reading materials: All of your reading needs can be met by your local library, freebie newspapers or online news. Local libraries can find almost any book you want to read. Support them at your town level when their budget requests come up for review. They are the glue that binds us, and they are hurting from severe cutbacks during the current recession.

• Energy: We are locked into foreign oil to heat our homes and power our cars and ride on lawn mowers. All are definitely non-local and also non-sustainable. Install a wood stove and cut yourself some firewood — or buy some locally. Install PV panels or wind turbine and use the FiTs scheme to finance it. Get a bike for local travel